Digital Literacy

Corporate Responsibility

According to a LirneAsia national survey (2015) on use of mobile data services in Myanmar, mobile internet service and mobile internet application use (or data service use) in Myanmar is low. 34% of mobile owners currently use at least one data service (internet via a browser or apps, including social media, calling and chat applications, etc.) on their mobile phone, despite 66% already owning a smartphone, a penetration rate higher than its neighbours. Usage was limited to a few apps; over half of these data service users only used between one and three types of services. As Myanmar leapfrogs into the smartphone age, it is thus evident that the majority of Myanmar smartphone users are not realizing the full potential of their smartphones in promoting economic, social, political and environmental development.

Furthermore, according to the latest census, only 3% of Myanmar households owned computers, compared to an African and Asia-Pacific average of 9% and 36% respectively. In the rapidly growing and digitally interconnected Myanmar economy where, according to the Asian Development Bank, skilled labour is in short supply, the general lack of professional computer digital literacy reduces employment prospects for the vast majority of Myanmar’s labour force while creating recruitment challenges for employers.